Beware of What You Play
by Setus
Summary: Remember Jumanji? The game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind? Well, what if Naruto and his friends finds it and play? What surprises awaits when they roll the dice? Please R&R.
1. Lost and Found

**Beware of what you play**

_**

* * *

**_

Jumanji

_**A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, the first player to reach the end wins. **_

_**Adventurers beware; do not begin, unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game, will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name…**_

* * *

Dear readers! Hello, well, this idea sort of popped out when I was re-watching Jumanji again, for the millionth time. Ok, I see my friend's face falling… Haha, that's a little habit of mine. So now after the game flows in the rivers, sailed the seas, flew over skies, and now who's the lucky ones to pick it up?

Presenting Jumanji, Naruto version!

Disclaimer: I don't own Jumanji and Naruto cast.

* * *

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

The village of Konoha sits quietly in the cool afternoon as ninjas busied themselves with missions and trainings. Those with nothing better to do would just sit around, enjoying the peace that the serene village offers. Peace, how wonderful marvelous the word is. However it is not something that should be taken for granted…

Naruto was training in the forest outside of the village all by himself. Somehow the perverted hermit isn't back from his mission.

"Right, mission my foot. He's probably somewhere drinking Sake and peeping at women!" Naruto pouted as he threw another kunai at a falling leaf. The weapon hit the leaf and sent it pinning into the nearest tree trunk. "Well, that's certainly an improvement!"

The smile on the genin's face faded again as he realizes how much time he is wasting. Training alone isn't going to help much, and no one is there to help him. Sighing, he let himself fall backwards into the grass and stared at the sky above.

The clouds crawled slowly across the sky. The breeze bended the grass and leaves of the tree to one side gently. Naruto's eyes grew tired, and slowly, they began to close…

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Naruto jerked his eyes opened.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

There was a distant drumming, a rhythm he never heard before, not in his village, not in his country…

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Naruto sat upright and listened.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

The ninja got up and looked around. Curiosity came over him as he followed the drumming. Faster and faster he ran into the forest, searching for the source of the rhythm. Then the drumming started to get complicated…

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

He started to leap to get to his destination faster. He leaped and leaped, ran and ran. Soon the trees parted to reveal the edge of the forest. A gigantic cliff now loomed over Naruto and a small stream separated him from the towering monster.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Naruto leaped across the stream and hurried forward. The drumming now filled the entire area. Then suddenly, it stopped.

"Eh?" Naruto turned around frantically to look for the drumming again, but no sound came. The winds continued to blow, the trees continued to rustle. He turned back to the foot of the cliff. He began to dig into the wall…

As he dug further, he hit something hard, something metal. It was a handle. Then with all his might, he pulled hard.

A chest…

A very old chest…

Naruto checked the chest front, back, side, and center. It was locked, with a rather odd lock. The ninja tugged on it but it won't budge. He stared at it for a while before a bulb lights up in his head.

"Rasengan!" he roared as he smashed the ball of Chakra right at the lock, only to smash the entire chest. The surrounding air was stirred, taking the bits of wood with it into the sky.

Naruto stared at the pieces of wood chips flying upwards like a torrent and sighed.

"So much for control…" he mumbled. Then he looked down and saw something. He bent down to take a closer look at the mysterious object…

Shikamaru was back staring at clouds. There's no sun, no rain, perfect for cloud watching. And just as usual, something is about to happen, he just knew it. The peace was too peaceful, so peaceful that it was just like the stillness before a destructive storm hits.

Shikamaru heard footsteps approaching so he turned on one side to see whom the intruder is. Here it comes.

The silhouette turns out to be munching on something… then something trailed behind it… followed by a bark.

"Chouji." He said lazily. As usual, his best pal knew where to find him.

"Yo Shikamaru!" the approaching ninja called out cheerfully, pouring a pack of chips into his mouth before crushing the packet. "I brought some people."

Shikamaru turned to one side and thought to himself, trouble… He sat up and saw behind Chouji were his two other friends, two of who skipped classes with him in the past when they were still very young.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto chirped, followed by an acknowledgement smug grin by Kiba and a cheerful bark by Akamaru. Shikamaru noticed the noisy ninja was carrying something. There goes my afternoon, Shikamaru thought. He looked back at the clouds, only to find none in the vast sky. As if reading his thoughts…

"Naruto said he found something and you might know what it is. Then Kiba tagged along." Chouji said before opening up another pack of chips.

On cue, Naruto set down his 'something' on the bench and sat down. The four heads and one dog head peered at the object.

"Jumanji?"

* * *

So how's the idea? Review me? Pretty please? To everyone who has read my Konoha Personality Test, well, somehow I think this is somewhat like the test fic, because people are going to, well, haha, get into trouble, just like how they, "goes to hades". Haha. so, please tell me how this idea goes? i know Jumanji is from like centuries ago but well, just tell me how it is ok? i'll see how the responses are. hehe

Setus


	2. Roll of the dice

**Beware of what you play**

_**

* * *

**_

Jumanji

_**A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, the first player to reach the end wins. **_

_**Adventurers beware; do not begin, unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game, will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name… **_

* * *

Well, I thought the response wasn't really up to my expectations but since it's my story, so I have the right to continue or end it. Besides I hate things without endings, unless they are force to be… lardie la la! Anyway has everyone got a great Christmas? Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: do I look like I own Jumanji and the Naruto crew? No? Good, though the poems belongs to me…

* * *

Chapter 2: Roll of the dice

"What's this?" Kiba growled as Akamaru sniffed the board. All five heads then bend forward to take a closer look…

"Let's open it." Naruto said enthusiastically. He reached out and ran his hand over the slit through the word and to the edge. There was a little dent to indicate how the board should be opened. Then the blond ninja flipped opened the flap and the other.

Now, in front of them is something foreign to them. There's a black shiny circle in the center, with four white strips, made up of squares branching out from there. The brown fading marks around the edges of the white strips and some parts of the squares indicated how old the board was. The background was a musty green piece of mosaic, which did well in bringing out the path lines and the black circle. The board look mysterious, but somehow familiar to those who had played board games before.

"Looks like a board game or something…" Shikamaru said after a moment of silence.

There was some words written on the flaps, but since Naruto wasn't that great a reader, he decided go for the little compartment that is beneath the words. He opened it as though opening his drawer back at his house, not a sign of anticipation or fear.

In the compartment were six items, four tokens, of which three is black and one is white, and two dices. Naruto picked up the four tokens and before he could study them further, the four wooden pieces flew and attached themselves to the four ends of the white paths.

Everyone was taken aback, each looked up and glanced at each other, and then everyone turned to look at the culprit.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Naruto protested. He reached out to retrieve one of the tokens but it just won't budge. Naruto frowned and continue to pry the token from the board, but it proved futile.

"ARF!"

"What is it, Akamaru?" Kiba turned to see his buddy barking at the words on the flaps. "**_Jumanji…_**"

"**_A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, the first player to reach the end wins…_**" Shikamaru read off the flap.

"A way to leave their world behind?" Chouji repeated, he had stopped munching on his chips and turned his attention to the more important.

Everyone gave the words some thought. 'To leave their world behind.' Sounds like it's going to transport you away to some twilight zone. Then again, what's a board going to do to the world?

Naruto opened the compartment again and took out the old white dices. He looked at his three friends, and the expression on his face questioned them if they would want to play.

"I'm going back, it's just a silly game anyway… I'd rather play shogi than this…" Shikamaru said, standing up. And when he did, he accidentally knocked onto Naruto's arm, an action that caused the two chipped-off dices to fall to the board.

One die showed two dots, the other showed three.

Then, something miraculous caught their eyes. One of the black tokens started to move. Shikamaru stopped and stared. The black token stopped after moving five squares. Naruto looked up and stared at Shikamaru, his eyes told him that whatever is going to happen it's his fault, after all, if he hadn't knocked into him, he wouldn't have dropped the dices.

"Hey look!" Chouji exclaimed. Everyone turned to board, because in the black piece of glass something is stirring. There was greenish yellow smoke-like substance floating and swirling, and then they took the form of words of a riddle.

"**_It's not nightfall, it's not eclipse, but they just want to bite your lips._**" Naruto read the smoke words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not nightfall… not eclipse… and bite my lips?!" Naruto repeated in slow motion.

And at that, the sunshine was gone bit by bit, replaced by a dark shadow that moved across the floor, like a wave of dark water crashed onto the shore, dying the sand black…

"I don't like the sound of this…" Kiba uttered as the shadow covered his face and Akamaru hopped back into his coat. Chouji and Shikamaru looked up and around, trying to locate the cause of the shadow. Naruto hopped out of the shelter to have a better look at the surroundings.

Then there was a little sound that resembles something like a creek and a puff. And when the ninjas looked up, all they saw was a patch of gray and a long beak…

"ARGH!!!!!!!!"

Naruto cried out when the beak headed for him and tried to snap him. They all scrambled out of the shelter they were previously in and saw for themselves what they are in.

Above in the sky was three large birds the size of rooftops, with long beaks and long claws. Their cries were louder and more piercing than any other they have ever heard. And at each swoop they tried to take a bite off them, snapping their beaks and clawing.

"What are they?" Kiba was shouting, dodging one sideways attack.

"I don't care what they are!!" Shikamaru cried, waving his hands to try to swat an approaching wing. "Urgh!"

At that, he took out a several kunais and started to throw them in the birds' direction. Then the others followed suit and started to play a game of darts, just that their targets are larger than usual and they can fly, and their darts are somewhat knifes…

"Take that!" Kiba cried as he threw one at the approaching assailant and hit it right in his head. "Let's go Akamaru!"

"ARF!" the dog barked as a 'poof' was heard and they saw two Kibas standing in fighting position.

"Gatsuga!" one of them cried as the two spun into action, creating two torrents of what looks like spinning drills and blasted the birds away one by one.

The giant flying creatures cried out in agony as they are hit one after another. One of them dropped down onto the shelter, crashing it. Then after a while they took off in the direction of the mountains in jagged motions, indicating that they are injured rather badly. The ninjas picked up from where they, either crouching or flat on the ground and looked at the disappearing creatures. Then they glanced at each other.

"You think those things came from the game?" Chouji asked, with a sign of fear in his voice.

"Oh come on!" Kiba rolled his eyes as if the answer was laid right out in front of them. "Just because of that silly thing you are going to think the game created these creatures? It's probably some enemy outside our village waiting to attack, we have to report this to the Hokage!"

"ARF!" the dog barked in agreement. The others started to nod their heads to agree. Yes, this could just be just the beginning.

"No… they came from the game."

Everyone stopped in his tracks and turned to look who was the one who said that. Shikamaru looked up at them, with a look that they had never seen before.

"What did you just say?" Kiba asked.

"I said, those birds came from the game." Shikamaru repeated, this time without his usual 'troublesome' tone.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked. Something is wrong, for Shikamaru to say something that ridiculous as that…

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pointed to the board amongst the debris of the shelter.

"Take a closer look at that."

Everyone walked closer to the board.

"**_A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, the first player to reach the end wins._**" Naruto repeated. "Now what?"

"This one here." Shikamaru pointed to the other flap. Oh, no… they missed that bit…

"**_Adventurers beware; do not begin, unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game, will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name…" _**Shikamaru finished it for them.

"Will only vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji?" Naruto shrieked.

"Yes, that means to make those things disappear, we have to finish the game," Shikamaru said. "Who know what those are going to do to us later…"

"Don't you think we should report this to the Hokage?" Chouji asked.

Right, report to the Hokage. That's it, that what we'll do!

Uh…

(Dream Sequence)

"WHAT?! THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS WE HAVE GIANT CREATURES EATING PEOPLE!!" Tsunade screamed at them.

"THIS IS TOO MUCH!!! HOW COULD YOU GUYS PUT THE VILLAGE ON THE LINE?!"

"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO HANDLE A SUSPICIOUS OBJECT? YOU WANT TO BE SENT BACK TO ACADEMY?"

CRASH! BASH! BOOM! POW!

……………

(End of dream sequence)

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru and Chouji shook their heads frantically.

"Let's continue the game…"

"Yeah."

"Ok."

"ARF!"

Apparently, the horrors that'll await them at the Hokage's office is much more horrifying than the horrors that the game would bring…

"All right, whose turn is it?" Kiba asked as he tried to drag the board out of the debris.

You look at me, I look at you…

"Who's next?" Naruto prompted. "I had my turn already."

Kiba was still pulling the board.

"ARGH!!! COME OUT!!!"

Then in one move, the board was released from the fallen boards and crashed into him. The game opened and the dices flew into the air. Everyone's eyes followed the flying cubes as they head back down on to the board.

The dices clicked as they made contact with the board game. They showed a five and a two.

And at that point, another black token began to move.

"WHAT?! That's counted?" Kiba groaned. Then the other guys crowded around the board as the greenish-yellow smoke in the black glass started to stir again.

"_**Do not doubt about where he's been, take a break and he will win..." **_

* * *

So how's the chapter? Sorry for the lack of discriptions and the scenes were rather shallow and fast-paced. I was somewhere in daze... well, review me and tell me how it is all right? thanks in advance. Hope you had a merry christmas and happy new year to you.

Setus.


	3. Fight or Flight

**Beware of what you play**

_**Jumanji**_

_**

* * *

**_

A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, the first player to reach the end wins.

_**Adventurers beware; do not begin, unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game, will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name… **_

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews people. Sorry if I didn't reply your review, my internet speed has given me hell, though I suppose those in Taiwan are in a much worse state than I am, so can't complaint... Here's the third chapter for this story. Happy new year, hope you guys have your new year resolutions ready, and don't forget to stick to them! 

Disclaimer: if I owned Jumanji, I'll never stop playing, because there are a few things I want to correct in this world, you know, add a few elephants to clear schools and lever the ground or something. Also if Naruto cast belonged to me, I would have replaced Sakura with someone more powerful, and made sushi out of Kisame. Muhahahaha!!!!

* * *

Chapter 3: Fight or Flight 

"_**Do not doubt about where he's been, take a break and he will win..." **_

Kiba read the words off the board and looked up.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Naruto asked.

"Take a break and he will win…" Chouji recited. "Take a break and he will… ARGH!!!!!!!!!"

"ARGH!!!!!" Suddenly Chouji started to shout. "ARGH!!!!!"

"What! What!" Shikamaru shook his pal's shoulders, trying to get his attention. Then in the midst of shouting, Chouji raised a finger and pointed ahead. Everyone turned to the direction pointed and saw for himself what was the horror.

Right there, standing not far away from them, was a cat…

A yellow cat…

A big yellow cat…

A big yellow cat with two razor sharp teeth…

"Grrrr…" The cat growled as it approached…

"Ah… Ah… ARGH!!!!!!" Naruto shouted. "RUN!!!!!"

Then one by one they scrambled onto their feet and ran.

"Wait, the game!" Shikamaru burst out after two steps. He turned back and quickly folded the game and tucked it under his arms before turning to escape.

"GRAAAAA!!!!!"

The cat leaped into action as the ninjas took flight.

"ARGH!" Naruto screamed as he ran from the rooftop and leaped to the nearest building. Then he turned around to see his friends landing beside him. His eyes sought the beastly cat.

"There!" Kiba pointed over to the rooftop that they had just vacated. There was the cat, standing at the edge, growling at them.

"HA HA! The big stupid cat can't get across!!!" Naruto started to laugh. Then he made a face at the cat, by sticking his tongue and pulling down one of his eyelids.

"AHAHA!!! BIG STUPID CAT CAN'T JUMP ACROSS!!!" Naruto started to shout.

The others watched quietly by one side, their minds are in dilemma, of whether to tell him to stop or else he'll provoke it further, or…

"GRAAAA!!!!!!" The cat gave the loudest roar so far and stepped backwards.

"Huh?" Naruto stopped laughing and watched.

Then out of a sudden, the cat ran at full speed and leaped across the gap between the building…

"Har?" Naruto stared blankly at the leaping cat…

"RUN!!!!" Kiba shouted as he and the others turned and ran leaving Naruto stunned at the spot.

"NARUTO!!!!" Kiba turned and called out to his immobilized friend.

"ARGH!!!!!!" Naruto screamed and shut his eyes as the cat bared its fangs, ready to take a mouthful of him…

……………

"Eh?" Naruto opened his eyes and saw…

"ARGH!!!!!!" the cat.

"Idiot!" Kiba's voice sounded in the midst of roars and screams. Naruto looked up and saw himself hanging in his jumper, the collar being grabbed by his friend.

"Kiba…" Naruto uttered. He saw that his surroundings are no longer buildings and concrete, but trees and leaves. They have entered the forest. Well, now with all the innocent people out of the way, it's time to hold nothing back.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto cried. Then beside him, another Naruto appeared.

"Huh?" Taken aback by such a sudden movement, Kiba let go of Naruto's collar…

Naruto, who didn't have any preparation and something to step on the moment before, fell…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……………"

crash…

Naruto landed onto the forest floor flat faced down…

His shadow copy and his friends were momentarily bewildered, that includes the cat…

"Oops… Sorry!" Kiba called out.

"Ouch… thanks a lot…" Naruto mumbled as he staggered onto his feet. His shadow copy then leaped down to join him. And after a while…

"GRAAA!!!!" The cat leaped at Kiba, who was unprepared due to the hilarious sight of Naruto falling to the ground.

"RASENGAN!"

A bright blue ball of chakra crashed head on with the cat, blasting it several ten thousand feet away from their position.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………………"

The ninjas watched and listened as the sound of it's growl getting softer and softer and the big cat gets smaller and smaller and disappears finally as a dot in the sky.

Kiba leaped down and patted Naruto on his back.

"Thanks pal!"

"Hehe!" Naruto held up a thumbs-up for him.

"Sigh, so troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered as he landed beside them, followed by Chouji. Then from under his arm, he produced Jumanji and held it out for them. "The sooner we play, the sooner we can finish it."

"Ok," Naruto agreed. "Uh, whose turn is it?"

Chouji and Shikamaru looked at each other. Chouji then looked down at the board in Shikamaru's hands, then up at him.

"Oh…" Shikamaru groaned and set the board down on the ground. He opened the board. Naruto took the elephant token, Kiba's crocodile token had already moved. What are left now are the white rhino and the black monkey…

"Here goes nothing…" Shikamaru picked up the dices and dropped it in the board and the others bended down to see the show. Two fours. "Darn… doubles…" It'll mean he gets another turn.

The black monkey token advanced eight spaces…

The smoke in the glass starts to stir…

"**_Run away while you have the chance, or else you'll fall into its trance."_**

"Trance?" Naruto asked.

Then they heard a rustling in the canopy. The rustling became harder and harder, and it seems to be circling them from above.

"I don't like the sound of that…" Kiba said, turning around furiously trying to locate the cause of rustling.

Then from the midst of rustling they heard a steady and rhythmic drumming.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

"What is that?" Shikamaru asked. The drumming went faster and faster, louder and louder. Everyone backed against each other as the drumming started to surround them.

"Should have ran away like what it said huh?" Kiba said sarcastically.

Then out of a sudden, Shikamaru started walking towards the drumming.

"Oy!" Naruto cried, trying to get his attention, but Shikamaru started walking faster, eventually breaking into a run.

"What's got into him?" Chouji asked. Then when Shikamaru disappeared from sight, the drumming stopped.

"Uh-oh…" Kiba muttered. "I think he's fell for the trance…"

Naruto stared blankly at the direction Shikamaru had disappeared.

"We got to go after him!" Chouji started, throwing a packet of empty chips on the ground and headed in that direction.

"Hey wait!" Naruto cried and ran after him. Kiba picked up the board and started running, with Akamaru on his head.

They ran in the woods for a while but there was no sign of Shikamaru. He couldn't have gotten far with his in-trance-walking-speed.

"All right, give me a moment." Kiba said, stopping to shift the board's position. He held up his nose and sniffed. His little white furry buddy did the same. "Straight ahead. Looks like he was caught…"

"Caught?" Naruto and Chouji said together.

"By who?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, doesn't smell like ninjas to me…" Kiba said in a rather low voice. Something it his tone told the other two friends that trouble is ahead of them… "Let's go."

They ran for another few minutes before they heard another set of drumming.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

"We're getting close!" Kiba shouted. They continue to run, and then they reached somewhere they have never seen in their lives. They are no longer in a forest with giant trees, but in a jungle with shorter trees, big palm leaves and plants they have never seen before. And then among the big palm leaves, there are shadows and silhouettes, dancing and prancing along with the drumming.

The ninjas looked at each other and then disappeared into the canopy. And when they looked down, they saw for themselves the fate that awaits Shikamaru when he rolled the dices…

* * *

How's this? Sorry if my humor for this chapter is someone lousy, it's kind of hard to actually do that though... hehe. anyway, review me to tell me how it is ok? trying my utmost best to update soon. once again, thanks for those who reviewed me! 

setus.


	4. Double's Turn

**Beware of what you play**

_**

* * *

**_

Jumanji

_**A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn, the first player to reach the end wins. **_

**_Adventurers beware; do not begin, unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game, will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name…_**

* * *

All righty, I'm back, thanks everybody for the reviews, loved them. I apologize for the short and somewhat lame chapters before and the uh, out of character -ness of our heroes, but without them, i don't think the story would be as funny right? ... Well, let's get get back to the story... 

Disclaimer: If i ever owned naruto or jumanji, i would be lounging on an island beach of my resort instead of here, typing away...

**and uh, just a note,** the things that are spoken by the cannibals are some things which don't really exist, well, as far as i'm concerned. but they do belong to Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest. So if there is some meaning in those words in any of the languages spoken elsewhere, i apologise for the inconvience caused.

* * *

Chapter 4: Doubles's turn 

What they saw for themselves below among the trees sent shivers down their spines. There standing among the trees are people, wrapped in animal skins and leaves, with weird drawings on their bodies. They held spears in their hands and some carrying feathered scepters.

All of them were circling around a fire, dancing and prancing, as if in a trance. And there, in the middle of the circle, was dear Shikamaru, all bundled up and tied to a wooden rod.

"They are going to eat him?" Chouji said, disgusted.

"How do you know?" Kiba turned and asked him.

"Well, they are cannibals! And they are going to roast Shikamaru and eat him." Chouji said. "They'll start to roast him alive when the drumming stops."

Kiba and Naruto can't help but wonder if Chouji has done something similar before… Never mind about that…

"Then we can't just sit and wait, can we?" Naruto said, taking out his weapons.

"What are you going to do?" Kiba turned to him quickly and asked, hopefully to get a wind of the reckless ninja's plan and stop him if necessary.

"I'm going to free him." Naruto stood up in the tree. Kiba sigh and slapped his forehead. But before he could say anything, the branch Naruto was standing snapped, and down Naruto went…

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

CRASH

The drumming stopped and everyone in the forest turned to look at the intruder. Naruto sat up and rubbed his head, thinking this is the second time he fell from somewhere high. Then he looked up to see the cannibals looking at him intently…

"Let go of Shikamaru!" Naruto got up and pointed at the tied-up ninja. Up in the trees, Kiba and Chouji sigh what seems like the longest sigh ever in history…

The cannibals tilted their heads, wondering what this intruder is talking about. Then some of them turned to look at a particular cannibal, who was sitting in a tent holding the grandest scepter of all.

"_Ah ni ki. Bon li ki li ki._" The dark man in the tent said. Then one of his guards, the one holding a spear beside the tent echoed his words. Then the whole clan of cannibals repeated the foreign phrase and raised their spears.

Naruto turned and looked at the herd of aggressive cannibals.

"What's 'bon liki liki'?" He asked innocently. Then when the cannibals approached with their raised spears, he got his answer.

"Well, should have ran when we had the chance…" Kiba said bitterly; as he picked up the game and hopped down to join Naruto. Chouji snapped out of his daze and follow suit.

The cannibals saw two other intruders and it took them by surprise. They backed away a little, not until the chief of their clan stood up abruptly and raised his scepter.

"_Baboogi! Bon li ki li ki!_" he shouted the foreign words and everyone echoed his words with enthusiasm. Then as if on cue, they started running and hence began the cat and mouse game.

The ninjas ran as the herd of cannibals chased them. Well, they are ninjas; after all, being chased by faster and swifter enemies are as common as eating ice cream, the cannibals are no match at all. But they are forgetting their main motive…

"Hey!" Naruto shouted after running for a while. "We forgot Shikamaru!"

Oh, right. Shikamaru…

"Well, I think we've got them far away enough, let's go back." Kiba shouted. Then, they leaped up a tree and disappeared. The cannibals stopped dead in their tracks, shocked to see that their prey has disappeared into thin air. They looked frantically around, shouting things to each other and it took them quite a while, and to realize what really happened…

…before they turned on their heels to run back to their camp site…

When Naruto, Kiba and Chouji returned to the barbecue site where just some time not too long ago Shikamaru was going to be turned into a feast, they found the named ninja still bundled up, in a trance.

"Oy, Shikamaru!" Naruto shook the genius furiously. Akamaru bit off the rope that was tying Shikamaru, but even after he was released, he was still in his trance, with eyes blank like gemstones and drooling like an old dog… No matter how hard Naruto and Kiba shouted in his ear, they can't seem to be able to break their friend from the spell compelling him.

Then, Chouji reached into his pouch and took out a packet of potato chips.

"Oy, how can you be eating in a time like this!" Kiba shouted, but Chouji ignored him.

"OY!" Naruto cried in desperation. Then the master of food began stuffing his mouth with chips at an incredible speed.

Naruto blinked.

Kiba hung his mouth.

Akamaru barked.

Then once he devoured the packet of chips, he blew into it to make a balloon, then with a quick movement, he slammed the make-shift balloon with the palm of his other hand.

BAM!

Shikamaru blinked. Blinked twice.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto and Kiba called out simultaneously.

"What happened?" He asked lazily. "Ok, never mind…"

He cast a look at his surroundings and the rope that was lying beside him and figured it out easily.

"Ok, let's get away from here." Naruto said, standing up and helped Shikamaru onto his feet.

"ARF!" Akamaru barked.

"Uh, guys?" Kiba's voice sounded. The three ninjas looked down at him to read his expression. Kiba raised a finger and pointed ahead.

There was a shuffle of leaves of the undergrowth behind them. Naruto turned around slowly…

"_BON LI KI LI KI!_"

"ARGH!!!!!"

Naruto cried out in fright as the cannibals returned and surrounded them, with spears and expressions of kill.

"Why didn't you detect them earlier Kiba!" Naruto shouted.

"Shut up! They don't have a scent that I could follow!" Kiba shouted back in defense. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"_In la la, ee si pi…_" Someone in the cannibal clan said.

"_La e sho sho, la e sho sho, e la kam kam si si._" Someone else said.

"What are they saying?" Naruto pondered. The others wondered too, and also more importantly, how to get out of this.

"They are discussing how to cook us." Chouji said simply. The ninjas and the dog turned to him with raised eyebrows. "The first one said to boil us alive… the second one…"

Chouji continued to translate whatever the cannibals are saying as the foreign language sprouted one after another. Naruto hung his mouth opened while Kiba frowned and made a face. Akamaru had the expression of pain, and Shikamaru's eye twitched. They can't help wondering if Chouji was making them up, or did he participate in a similar event, in which they did not know about.

"_Pa se ko, ka li ka li ten da da._" A deeper voice sounded. Then the ninjas saw the group parted to form a pathway in which the chief took to near them.

"_Se se lum shup shup sa ma ne_," the chief said ominiously. "_Bon li ki li ki_."

"Oh… it's that 'bon li ki li ki' again…" Naruto said sourly and backed towards his friends. The cannibals closed in…

Shikamaru always has a plan, and in situations like this, no doubt he has one. But as usual, for the plan to work, it would take tremendous amount of collaboration, coordination and cooperation. And that is very troublesome, as of now. So there's a simple yet risky plan.

He took the board, which was still resting in Kiba's hands, opened it and took the dices. Without hesitation, he rolled.

A one and a two…

The black monkey advanced three spaces…

Smoke began to stir in the black glass, and a message appeared…

"**_They snap, they bite, they grab, they run. They are hungry even when done…_**"

There was again shuffling of the undergrowth, and a steady thumping of the ground. The cannibals froze in the midst of their 'bon li ki li ki', and turned around furiously.

"_Lam pi ki pi ki!_" Someone shouted. Then the rest echoed in fright and ran away from the site.

The ninjas stared at the retreating cannibals. Shikamaru sighed, his plan worked… up till now.

The shuffling and the thumping grew louder and louder… the ninjas stood up and backed each other…

Then, from the bushes, Shikamaru saw why the cannibals ran away in such hurry and fright…

* * *

Ok, that's all for this round, hope to see more responses and reviews coming my way for this. and uh, just a note, the things that are spoken by the cannibals are some things which don't really exist, well, as far as i'm concerned. but they do belong to Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest. So if there is some meaning in those words in any of the languages spoken elsewhere, i apologise for the inconvience caused. 


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